Professor Horner’s Reading Plan

¹Very early in the morning the leading priests and the elders of the people met again to lay plans for putting Jesus to death.

²Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

³When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.

⁴“I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they retorted. “That’s your problem.”

⁵Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

⁶The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.”

⁷After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners.

⁸That is why the field is still called the Field of Blood.

⁹This fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah that says, “They took the thirty pieces of silver — the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel,

¹⁰and purchased the potter’s field, as the LORD directed. ”

¹¹Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him. Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

¹²But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.

¹³“Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded.

¹⁴But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.

¹⁵Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd — anyone they wanted.

¹⁶This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas.

¹⁷As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you — Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

¹⁸(He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

¹⁹Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.”

²⁰Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death.

²¹So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?” The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”

²²Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!”

²³“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?” But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”

²⁵And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death — we and our children!”

²⁶So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

²⁷Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters and called out the entire regiment.

²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him.

²⁹They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”

³⁰And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it.

³¹When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

³²Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.

³³And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”).

³⁴The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it.

³⁵After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.

³⁶Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there.

³⁷A sign was fastened above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

³⁸Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

³⁹The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery.

⁴⁰“Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

⁴¹The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus.

⁴²“He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him!

⁴³He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

⁴⁴Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way.

⁴⁵At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.

⁴⁶At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

⁴⁷Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.

⁴⁸One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink.

⁴⁹But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit.

⁵¹At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,

⁵²and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.

⁵³They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance.

⁵⁶Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

⁵⁷As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus,

⁵⁸went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him.

⁵⁹Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth.

⁶⁰He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left.

⁶¹Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.

⁶²The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate.

⁶³They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’

⁶⁴So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”

⁶⁵Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.”

⁶⁶So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

¹Then the LORD said to Moses,

²“Give the following instructions to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel. This is what the LORD has commanded.

³“If any native Israelite sacrifices a bull or a lamb or a goat anywhere inside or outside the camp

⁴instead of bringing it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to present it as an offering to the LORD, that person will be as guilty as a murderer. Such a person has shed blood and will be cut off from the community.

⁵The purpose of this rule is to stop the Israelites from sacrificing animals in the open fields. It will ensure that they bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance of the Tabernacle, so he can present them to the LORD as peace offerings.

⁶Then the priest will be able to splatter the blood against the LORD’s altar at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and he will burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

⁷The people must no longer be unfaithful to the LORD by offering sacrifices to the goat idols. This is a permanent law for them, to be observed from generation to generation.

⁸“Give them this command as well. If any native Israelite or foreigner living among you offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice

⁹but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer it to the LORD, that person will be cut off from the community.

¹⁰“And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you eats or drinks blood in any form, I will turn against that person and cut him off from the community of your people,

¹¹for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.

¹²That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood — neither you nor the foreigners living among you.’

¹³“And if any native Israelite or foreigner living among you goes hunting and kills an animal or bird that is approved for eating, he must drain its blood and cover it with earth.

¹⁴The life of every creature is in its blood. That is why I have said to the people of Israel, ‘You must never eat or drink blood, for the life of any creature is in its blood.’ So whoever consumes blood will be cut off from the community.

¹⁵“And if any native-born Israelites or foreigners eat the meat of an animal that died naturally or was torn up by wild animals, they must wash their clothes and bathe themselves in water. They will remain ceremonially unclean until evening, but then they will be clean.

¹⁶But if they do not wash their clothes and bathe themselves, they will be punished for their sin.”

¹Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

²Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.

³For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort,

⁴though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

⁵I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin — a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law.

⁶I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

⁷I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.

⁸Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

⁹and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

¹⁰I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,

¹¹so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

¹²I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.

¹³No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,

¹⁴I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

¹⁵Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.

¹⁶But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.

¹⁷Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.

¹⁸For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.

¹⁹They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.

²⁰But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

²¹He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

¹But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.

²Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered.

³In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

⁴For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment.

⁵And God did not spare the ancient world — except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood.

⁶Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people.

⁷But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him.

⁸Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.

⁹So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.

¹⁰He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.

¹¹But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings.

¹²These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed.

¹³Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals.

¹⁴They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.

¹⁵They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong.

¹⁶But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.

¹⁷These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness.

¹⁸They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception.

¹⁹They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.

²⁰And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.

²¹It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.

²²They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

¹Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.

²So I concluded that the dead are better off than the living.

³But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born. For they have not seen all the evil that is done under the sun.

⁴Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless — like chasing the wind.

⁵“Fools fold their idle hands, leading them to ruin.”

⁶And yet, “Better to have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with hard work and chasing the wind.”

⁷I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.

⁸This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.

⁹Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.

¹⁰If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

¹¹Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?

¹²A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

¹³It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice.

¹⁴Such a youth could rise from poverty and succeed. He might even become king, though he has been in prison.

¹⁵But then everyone rushes to the side of yet another youth who replaces him.

¹⁶Endless crowds stand around him, but then another generation grows up and rejects him, too. So it is all meaningless — like chasing the wind.

¹Praise the LORD, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle.

²He is my loving ally and my fortress, my tower of safety, my rescuer. He is my shield, and I take refuge in him. He makes the nations submit to me.

³O LORD, what are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them?

⁴For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow.

⁵Open the heavens, LORD, and come down. Touch the mountains so they billow smoke.

⁶Hurl your lightning bolts and scatter your enemies! Shoot your arrows and confuse them!

⁷Reach down from heaven and rescue me; rescue me from deep waters, from the power of my enemies.

⁸Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

⁹I will sing a new song to you, O God! I will sing your praises with a ten-stringed harp.

¹⁰For you grant victory to kings! You rescued your servant David from the fatal sword.

¹¹Save me! Rescue me from the power of my enemies. Their mouths are full of lies; they swear to tell the truth, but they lie instead.

¹²May our sons flourish in their youth like well-nurtured plants. May our daughters be like graceful pillars, carved to beautify a palace.

¹³May our barns be filled with crops of every kind. May the flocks in our fields multiply by the thousands, even tens of thousands,

¹⁴and may our oxen be loaded down with produce. May there be no enemy breaking through our walls, no going into captivity, no cries of alarm in our town squares.

¹⁵Yes, joyful are those who live like this! Joyful indeed are those whose God is the LORD.

¹A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.

²The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.

³The LORD is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.

⁴Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

⁵Only a fool despises a parent’s discipline; whoever learns from correction is wise.

⁶There is treasure in the house of the godly, but the earnings of the wicked bring trouble.

⁷The lips of the wise give good advice; the heart of a fool has none to give.

⁸The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but he delights in the prayers of the upright.

⁹The LORD detests the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue godliness.

¹⁰Whoever abandons the right path will be severely disciplined; whoever hates correction will die.

¹¹Even Death and Destruction hold no secrets from the LORD. How much more does he know the human heart!

¹²Mockers hate to be corrected, so they stay away from the wise.

¹³A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit.

¹⁴A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash.

¹⁵For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.

¹⁶Better to have little, with fear for the LORD, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.

¹⁷A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.

¹⁸A hot-tempered person starts fights; a cool-tempered person stops them.

¹⁹A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers, but the path of the upright is an open highway.

²⁰Sensible children bring joy to their father; foolish children despise their mother.

²¹Foolishness brings joy to those with no sense; a sensible person stays on the right path.

²²Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success.

²³Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!

²⁴The path of life leads upward for the wise; they leave the grave behind.

²⁵The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows.

²⁶The LORD detests evil plans, but he delights in pure words.

²⁷Greed brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live.

²⁸The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.

²⁹The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.

³⁰A cheerful look brings joy to the heart; good news makes for good health.

³¹If you listen to constructive criticism, you will be at home among the wise.

³²If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

³³Fear of the LORD teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor.

¹The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to a man from the tribe of Benjamin.”

²Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly.

³“O LORD, God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!”

⁴Early the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it.

⁵Then they said, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we held our assembly in the presence of the LORD?” At that time they had taken a solemn oath in the LORD’s presence, vowing that anyone who refused to come would be put to death.

⁶The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off.

⁷How can we find wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?”

⁸So they asked, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we assembled in the presence of the LORD?” And they discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had attended the assembly.

⁹For after they counted all the people, no one from Jabesh-gilead was present.

¹⁰So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children.

¹¹“This is what you are to do,” they said. “Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.”

¹²Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found 400 young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

¹³The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the remaining people of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon.

¹⁴Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the 400 women of Jabesh-gilead who had been spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them.

¹⁵The people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made this gap among the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶So the elders of the assembly asked, “How can we find wives for the few who remain, since the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead?

¹⁷There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out.

¹⁸But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God’s curse.”

¹⁹Then they thought of the annual festival of the LORD held in Shiloh, south of Lebonah and north of Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem.

²⁰They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, “Go and hide in the vineyards.

²¹When you see the young women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wife!

²²And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, ‘Please be sympathetic. Let them have your daughters, for we didn’t find wives for all of them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not actually give your daughters to them in marriage.’”

²³So the men of Benjamin did as they were told. Each man caught one of the women as she danced in the celebration and carried her off to be his wife. They returned to their own land, and they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.

²⁴Then the people of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes.

²⁵In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

¹“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.

²The LORD who made you and helps you says: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one.

³For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.

⁴They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.

⁵Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the LORD.’ Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’ Some will write the LORD’s name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own.”

⁶This is what the LORD says — Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.

⁷Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.

⁸Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses — is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock — not one!”

⁹How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.

¹⁰Who but a fool would make his own god — an idol that cannot help him one bit?

¹¹All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen — mere humans — who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.

¹²The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint.

¹³Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.

¹⁴He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain.

¹⁵Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then — yes, it’s true — he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it!

¹⁶He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”

¹⁷Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”

¹⁸Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.

¹⁹The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”

²⁰The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

²¹“Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget you.

²²I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”

²³Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done this wondrous thing. Shout for joy, O depths of the earth! Break into song, O mountains and forests and every tree! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel.

²⁴This is what the LORD says — your Redeemer and Creator: “I am the LORD, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. Who was with me when I made the earth?

²⁵I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.

²⁶But I carry out the predictions of my prophets! By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again,’ and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt; I will restore all your ruins!’

²⁷When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’ they will be dry.

²⁸When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”

¹The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish synagogue and preached with such power that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.

²Some of the Jews, however, spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.

³But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders.

⁴But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

⁵Then a mob of Gentiles and Jews, along with their leaders, decided to attack and stone them.

⁶When the apostles learned of it, they fled to the region of Lycaonia — to the towns of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area.

⁷And there they preached the Good News.

⁸While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting

⁹and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed.

¹⁰So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.

¹¹When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!”

¹²They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker.

¹³Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.

¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting,

¹⁵“Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings — just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

¹⁶In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways,

¹⁷but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”

¹⁸But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.

¹⁹Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead.

²⁰But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

²¹After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia,

²²where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.

²³Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

²⁴Then they traveled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia.

²⁵They preached the word in Perga, then went down to Attalia.

²⁶Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed.

²⁷Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too.

²⁸And they stayed there with the believers for a long time.